Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: None indicated| Rating: 8

Pros:

Size, Weight

Cons:

Speed

This lens came with my camera body. I no longer own it, but at times I miss it.

It's easy to dismiss this lens as a 'simply a kit lens', but I think that's not fair to this lens.

It's easy to say what this lens isn't. In truth, it's not a lot of things. But that's only because of the trade-off necessary for what it is.

What it is, then, is a great standard zoom if you want to travel light. It's quite small and is very light. This lens certainly won't be a burden. It's also, like the 25mm pancake lens, rather inconspicuous.

It does have some distortion and vignetting, but, again, it's small and light. All things considered, they're well controlled.

It's image quality is about the middle of the road for the Digital Zuiko line-up, but Oly users know that the middle of the Zuiko road is not really a bad place.

It's biggest drawback is its speed. At its widest it's only f-3.5. In decent light, this isn't a problem. But it starts to be a problem inside and after the sun sets.

Again, I would consider this a travel lens. Most people traveling are going to be active during the day. While the sun is rising and setting (please put your camera away at noon, unless you're inside) you'll have enough light that its speed doesn't matter. At night you'll be resting.

If your technique is good, you should be able to get a passable shot having dinner with your new vacation friends, but don't expect the waitress to take a clear photo with this lens unless you're eating in a well-lit warehouse.

Yemm66

Registered: November 2011Posts: 2

Olympus 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 ED Zuiko Digital review by Yemm66

Review Date: 11/6/2011

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: None indicated| Rating: 8

Pros:

Light weight, color, sharpness, size

Cons:

Slow aperture, plastic mount surface, toy like feel

I have to say, I am pretty impressed with this little lens. I was really worried I would not like the image quality. I was flat wrong. It does very nice work! The price vs. quality is probably one of the best out there by any manufacturer. Hardly know it's on the camera and is very short from front to back. Yes, other Olympus lenses are better, but that's what photoshop post processing is purchased for. You can tighten up this lenses results and make a very high quality image. Don't worry about having the best, most expensive lens available. It's also about getting used to your equipment and learning your craft. Find the strengths, and use it to your advantage. It still takes a respectable shot indoors with proper light and an image stabilized camera.

Easy

Registered: April 2011Posts: 6

Olympus 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 ED Zuiko Digital review by Easy

Review Date: 4/3/2011

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $100.00| Rating: 10

Pros:

Compact, good build quality, great price, excellent image quality as for kit lens

Cons:

Plastic Mount, Slow Aperture

I am very happy user of this lens.
14 mm is very useful.
CDAF is a bonus for M4/3 users.

logbi77

Registered: March 2009Posts: 3

Olympus 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 ED Zuiko Digital review by logbi77

Review Date: 3/7/2009

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $100.00| Rating: 10

Pros:

Lightweight, Cheap, Small

Cons:

Slow Aperture, Plastic Mount, hunts in low-light, Bokeh

This lens is very good, especially in good light. Almost as sharp as the 14-54mm lens. It is also incredibly small and lightweight and also has a close focusing distance. Although the DOF control is somewhat limited due to its aperture and it hunts in low-light, this lens is one heck of a performer and does not disappoint.

ktwse

Registered: March 2008Posts: 11

Olympus 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 ED Zuiko Digital review by ktwse

Review Date: 3/4/2009

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $100.00| Rating: 9

Pros:

Weight, sharpness, colour and contrast, good build for a kit lens, price

Cons:

Slow max aperture

You can't really fault this lens given that it's mostly sold as part of a kit, but even if you do decide to buy it separately, it's incredibly good value for money. I used it alongside the Zuiko 12-60 for a couple of months and while that lens is certainly in a different league, the IQ difference isn't as dramatic as you might expect. This lens is perfectly capable of producing great shots.

Compared to the Zuiko pro lenses, build quality isn't great but a more fair comparison is to other manufacturers' kit lenses and then it certainly stands up well, with only Pentax' 18-55 II being noticeably better. The lens hood is quite good and the front element doesn't rotate so polarizers are perfectly useable.

In short, if you get it as part of a kit, don't rush out to upgrade, rather spend that money on other accessories or lenses. If you need a cheap, light and inconspicous walkaround lens to complement a pro lens, you might be positively suprised!

xeroxparc79

Registered: February 2009Posts: 5

Olympus 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 ED Zuiko Digital review by xeroxparc79

Review Date: 2/22/2009

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $115.00| Rating: 8

Pros:

Compact, light, sharp and well built

Cons:

Slow aperture, limited range

The best kit lens available, the only real limit is the max aperture but for the price it's a bargain.

MartinM

Registered: November 2008Posts: 31

Olympus 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 ED Zuiko Digital review by MartinM

Review Date: 11/5/2008

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $129.00| Rating: 8

Pros:

Small, lightweight, sharpness, fast AF

Cons:

focal lenght

why the heck Olympus did not do a 12-60 / 3.5 - 5.6. It would have been that much more convenient without big cost impact.